Natalie Portman in EpII

I'm not sure its Lucas' directing. I think he does fine. Writing/editing maybe, but all and all everything works great for me.

 

Natty has a perfect "torso" in this movie. I'll leave it at that.

 

Yep, you could fry an egg on that tummy . .

*Thinks about "Hot Shots" the movie

ummmmmm never mind

 

>>>>Yep, you could fry an egg on that tummy . . <<<

Don't stop there. Imagine what you could do if you went a little higher?


Keeping that same thought...I wonder if Portman shaves.

 

ohhh mannnnnnnnnnn

 

Ok, maybe I'm to blame but everyone needs to take a cold shower right about now before we get in trouble,

now then what was I talking about before all this started?

Oh yeah . .. there was an interesting debate starting over which had more effect acting talent vs. directing style.

Any more thoughts?

 

I think acting talent has a bigger effect. Most of this movie was filmed in front of a blue screen. That makes acting pretty difficult when you have to imagine the setting. The actors did a wonderful job of doing that.

 

Portman's acting left alot to be desired. It's not the worse acting out there, sometimes she was okay, but it's almost like she didn't get into the character because her Harvard(??) buddies might razz her too much. Acting is so gauche youknow.

 

I think Natalie did a great job. She has the perfect body as well. Yum

 

On most of Natalie's close-ups, it is very evident that she spent lots of time being powder-brushed and lip-painted. I think the makeup artists were trying too hard with Natalie. Of course, all actors in big-budget productions get the powder brush in the makeup room. It just looked so obvious on her.

Her only really good acting scene in AOTC, IMO, was her declaration of love to Anakin.

 

Leash, THAT was by far her best scene, though to me she wasn't that bad in the rest of th film. I'm not sure she's worried about her friends ragging on her. Did you see her on Rosie? The story she told about teasing that Jedi guy comes to mind. I couldn't quite figure out if she thought that kind of hardcore fan was silly or cute.

If she thiks its silly, well then you might be right. However, if she thinks it is cute or admirable that Star Wars would mean so much to someone as they would desire to dress that way for the film it would mean she would take her role seriously in that regard. Am I making any sense?

Anyway, one thing that is for certain is that she feels she should treat her job with professionalism. So overall I think she had a very serious mindset to the role.

 

I agree with everything just stated.

There was only one time where I thought it was obvious she was wearing make-up. The make-up team didn't have to pour it on her because of her natural good looks.

 

up we go!

 

I noticed she seemed to like to sleep with a little bit of make-up at one point, but other than that, not really at all.

 

Up- so everyone making other threads that would go fine in here can see this.

 

I like the moment where she is packing up her clothes in Coruscant and talking with Anakin. When she talks about mentors and looks at Anakin almost winking. Also the part in the fields of Naboo where she is describing the young artist that she was fond of.

I've been a fan of Natalie since watching Leon(the Professional). I have often thought said that Jean Reno should have played Qui-Gon, so they could be on screen again.
I also thought she stold the show in "Beautiful Girls."

 

I've seen other threads where people are talking about how terrible her acting is. As I've said before I can't see anything wrong with it. I don't think shes dry or unemotional. I saw one person who mentioned the line where she says "I will not give in to this." The person said she was dry and ruined the excellent performance by Hayden. First, I don't think Hayden was excellent. Now don't get me wrong he did a fine job, but it could have been better. Now, about Natalie. She may have sounded dry because she was trying to get Anakin to go away. She didn't want him to fall in love with her so she said flatly I will not give in to this. If I was Anakin I would have fely quite rejected at that point. She was not dry; she was firm.

 

Agreed with both of you. Maybe I sohould read more of that other thread instead of whining about it . . . but I just wanted to get the point across that this thread doesn't have to be just a bunch of Natalie gushers . . .

Even though I am

Also, there is a pretty food thread about her love revelation. Here is what I had to say about that:

Yep, I think the scene is more appealing to all because for the first time, Natalie is able to connect with Hayden, instead of trying to portray that she is shielding herself somehow. Though good at both, Natalie seems to be better at connecting.

 

agreed

 

I've seen the movie 3 times now. I think the visuals and story are great, but Portman's acting is fair to poor. I love everyone else in the picture. I'm not sure if its the dialogue she has to work with or that she just did a poor acting job.

She's emotionless is many important scenes where she needs to show emotion. Many of her lines come out flat and poorly timed. Examples:

When her bodyguard dies...look at her...she stands there with this blank look on her face. I wish the actress who died played Padme...she was excellent in her small scene. She showed more emotion than Natalie did the whole movie.

When Yoda talks to her after an attempt was made on her life...Yoda declares he's so happy she's okay and she delivers her lines like she's reading from a teleprompter.

When Anakin tells her how he killed all those Tuskin Raider's...she shows no emotion...no sense of shock or sadness..she gives him this blank stare. She weakens the scene.

When she jumps up from being flat on the sand....no facial expressions like she's still in pain from falling or anything. Not sure if its just a poorly edited scene or she just does a horrendous acting job in that particular scene.

The fireplace scene. Natalie's lines are so poorly delivered its almost embarrassing to watch this scene. Hayden does a great job showing emotion during this scene and she falls flat with her emotional lines. Makes Hayden look like he's overacting.

Believe me I loved the film, but no movie is without weaknesses. I think Natalie Portman needs to take some refresher acting courses before EP III. She is definately hurting the series.

Her best delivery is during the meadow scene and near the end when she professes her love for Anakin. I wish her line delivery was that good during the rest of the film. Her performance is erratic and very inconsistent.

George Lucas is partly to blame for this because he obviously didn't coach her well during crucial scenes. I mean can't he see that her line delivery is awful in some scenes? He needs to spend more time working with the actors, less with the special effects.

 

It's not her acting that bugs me...it's her voice. She sounds like a little girl. In the OT, when Leia speaks, it's with authority...strong...self-assured...some maturity in her tone. When Padme speaks (other than her robot-like Queen voice) she's using an I'm-just-a-helpless-woman voice. She reminds me of some of the women in my office whose voices get an octave higher whenever men are around.

Maybe it's just one of my weird pet peeves.

 

I can't imagine anyone else in that role. I think Natalie did a great job in AOTC. It's not coincidence that most movie critics -- even those who panned AOTC -- haven't had a negative opinion of Natalie's performance. She is a gifted actress at the beginning of her career.

Remember: in AOTC, Padme is a character that is pulled in two different directions, one by her heart and the other by her head. That is exactly how Natalie plays it:

- When she is Senator, she uses the "stylized" speech that Lucas talked about. She's very reserved and "stiff."

- When she is just Padme her language and mannerisms change...she's more relaxed, expressive, energetic, smiling, and she uses the less formal, less "stylized" speech.

- A couple of times as Padme, she switches back to the "Senator" mode, because she is trying to protect herself, protect her feelings so she can do what's right...as in the fireside scene w/Anakin.

Natalie does more than simply recite her lines...she brings life to the role with her eyes, body language, expressions and timing. She knows how to use subtlty on-screen, and you see it in nearly every scene, particularly the scenes with Anakin. The writing can sometimes be uninspiring, sometimes ham-fisted, yet she brings life to the character and shows that something more is going on behind the pretty face.

What one poster calls it "flat" compared to Hayden...but that's because Hayden over-acts many of his scenes. Don't expect over-acting from Natalie...or Ewan, or Sam Jackson, or Christopher Lee, or any of the other accomplished actors.

Like I said, she's a wonderful actress who has yet to hit her stride. When and if she decides she wants to be a full-time actress (when she finishes school), I predict we'll see some truly great performances and great movies from her.

 

mdmel5 -- You can add to that list the scene when her and Anakin are exiting the transport on Coruscant and she hugs Dorme. Rose Byrne does a fantastic job, but when Padme hugs her, it looks like Natalie really doesn't want to be there.

 

God dammit, I'm pissed off. I guess the general thought in this board is that "Natalie Portman is the worst actor that ever lived". I mean, does anyone here TRY to defend her. I sick of ppl saying crap like "she didn't want to be there" and "she acted wooden in too many of her roles". Its fine to not like her performance, but when you say that she single-handley ruined ATOC, I start to get angry.
I thought she did a great job in ATOC, and if you geeks can't recongize that, then screw you.

 

Ociredor, I understand how you feel but don't say this board is about how bad she was. I have defended her several times. I think she did a great job. I also think a majority of the posts on this board state positive things about her performance.